Metabolix signs distribution and supply deals with Chinese biomaterials company

Metabolix Inc., a Cambridge-based bioscience company focused on helping customers in the plastics, chemicals, and energy industries to achieve environmental goals, said it has entered into a distribution agreement with Tianjin GreenBio Materials Co. Ltd., a biomaterials company based in China.

Richard P. Eno. Photo courtesy of the company.

Under the agreement, Metabolix said it will distribute GreenBio’s SoGreen heat shrink film in Europe, and it will also be the exclusive distributor in the Americas.

Tianjin GreenBio offers two grades of heat shrink film that are used to bind together items for packaging, shipping, and storage, Metabolix said in a press release. Unlike traditional packaging, Tianjin GreenBio products are biodegradable.

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“Heat shrink film is the plastic wrap that’s used to seal things like water bottles or pill bottles,” Metabolix president and chief executive Richard P. Eno wrote in an e-mail. “The heat shrink film market is large, estimated at approximately $2 billion in the US and Europe, so there’s a significant opportunity for compostable formulations of heat shrink films, like Tianjin GreenBio’s.”

In addition to the distribution relationship, Metabolix and GreenBio have also signed an agreement that calls for Tianjin GreenBio to supply PHA resins to Metabolix, which will extend the range and availability of the company’s PHA products.

“This will give our customers the flexibility to manufacture biodegradable/compostable products for which other PHA grades and blends are needed to meet desired performance characteristics,” Eno wrote.

Products made with PHA include packaging, compostable bags, and containers.